诗翁彼豆故事集 第29期:三兄弟的传说(6)

 　　The first well-documented mention of a wand made of elder that had particularly strong and dangerous powers was owned by Emeric, commonly called “the Evil”, a short-lived but exceptionally aggressive wizard who terrorised the South of England in the early Middle Ages. 第一根有文字记载的、具有特别厉害和危险魔力的接骨木魔杖，其主人叫埃默里克，人称“恶棍”。他是一个短命的但攻击力极强的巫师，于中世纪早期在英格兰南部实行恐怖统治。

　　He died as he had lived, in a ferocious 1 duel 2 with a wizard known as Egbert. 他在跟一位名叫埃格伯特的巫师的凶残决斗中丧生。
　　What became of Egbert is unknown, although the life expectancy 3 of medieval duelers was generally short. 埃格伯特后来怎么样了不得而知，不过中世纪决斗士们的寿命一般都很短。
　　In the days before there was a Ministry 4 of Magic to regulate the use of Dark Magic, duelling was usually fatal. 在魔法部开始对黑魔法的使用进行管理之前，决斗通常都是致命的。
　　A full century later, another unpleasant character, this time named Godelot, advanced the study of Dark Magic by writing a collection of dangerous spells with the help of a wand he described in his notebook as “my moste wicked and subtle friend, with bode 5 of Ellhorn, (Note 6: An old name for “elder”. ) who knows ways of magic moste evile”. (Magick Moste Evile became the title of Godelot's masterwork. ) 整整一个世纪之后，另一个令人讨厌的人物——他的名字叫戈德洛特——在一根魔杖的帮助下写出一批危险的咒语，推进了黑魔法的研究。他在笔记本上形容他的魔杖是“我最邪恶、最玄妙莫测的朋友，它的杖身是用艾尔角（注释六：接骨木的古名。）做的，熟悉各种最邪恶的魔法”。（“最邪恶的魔法”成了戈德洛特那部杰作的名字。）
　　As can be seen, Godelot considers his wand to be a helpmeet, almost an instructor 6. 显然，戈德洛特把他的魔杖看作一位合作伙伴，甚至一位导师。
　　Those who are knowledgeable 7 about wand lore 8 (Note 7: Such as myself. ) will agree that wands do indeed absorb the expertise 9 of those who use them, though this is an unpredictable and imperfect business; one must consider all kinds of additional factors, such as the relationship between the wand and the user, to understand how well it is likely to perform with any particular individual. 熟悉魔杖学的人（注释七：比如本人。）认为魔杖确实能吸收使用者的技术，不过这种事情是不可预测的，也是不全面的，人必须考虑到所有的附加因素，如魔杖和使用者之间的关系，才能了解它在某人手上会有怎样的表现。
　　Nevertheless, a hypothetical wand that had passed through the hands of many Dark wizards would be likely to have, at the very least, a marked affinity 10 for the most dangerous kinds of magic. 尽管如此，一根经过许多黑巫师之手的假想的魔杖，起码会对最危险的魔法表现出显著的偏爱。
　　Most witches and wizards prefer a wand that has “chosen” them to any kind of second-hand 11 wand, precisely 12 because the latter is likely to have learned habits from its previous owner that might not be compatible with the new user's style of magic. 大多数巫师喜欢使用一根“选择”他们的魔杖，而不是任何二手魔杖，因为二手魔杖很可能已经从前任主人那里学到一些习惯，跟新主人的魔法风格不协调。
　　The general practice of burying (or burning) the wand with its owner, once he or she has died, also tends to prevent any individual wand learning from too many masters. 主人死后，魔杖一般伴随主人安葬（或焚烧），这种做法也能阻止一根魔杖从太多主人那里学到东西。
　　Believers in the Elder Wand, however, hold that because of the way in which it has always passed allegiance between owners – the next master overcoming the first, usually by killing 13 him – the Elder Wand has never been destroyed or buried, but has survived to accumulate wisdom, strength and power far beyond the ordinary. 可是，相信“老魔杖”说法的人认为，由于“老魔杖”一直向不同的主人效忠——后一位主人战胜前一任主人，一般通过结果其性命的方式——所以“老魔杖”一直没有被摧毁或焚烧。它积聚了许多智慧、力量和魔力，远远胜过普通的魔杖。